Part 2: Calvinism and Scripture

Part 2: Calvinism and Scripture

My approach in this book will be somewhat similar, except that I will let Calvinists speak for themselves, and I will provide an explanation of pertinent biblical texts rather than just a long list of Bible verses. So toward this end, each chapter will contain three parts.

The first part of each chapter is titled “In Their Words,” and will begin with a brief explanation of the particular point of Calvinism under discussion. Although I will try to briefly summarize the Calvinistic perspective, the first section of each chapter will primarily contain quotes from various leading Calvinists so that Calvinists are allowed to present their views in their own words. The reason for this is because I want the Calvinist views to be fairly presented. I have discovered that when Calvinists respond to critiques of their positions, they often say that they have been misrepresented and their views misstated. I am certain that this will still happen with this book, but I will try to ward off such a critique by allowing Calvinists to speak for themselves when it comes to what they believe. Of course, since not all Calvinists agree on how to explain and defend all the points of Calvinism, I will try to present various views and perspectives as well.

The second part of each chapter is titled “In The Word” and will contain an examination of several of the key biblical texts which are often used to defend that particular point of Calvinism. Undoubtedly, Calvinistic critiques of this book will say that although I provided novel and unique interpretations to several of the key biblical texts, the fact that I ignored scores of other Calvinistic proof texts shows that I am in error. So in an attempt to ward off this sort of criticism before it is given, I want to state here at the outset that my selection of texts in the chapters that follow is by no means comprehensive. Instead of dealing with every text which Calvinists use to defend their views (it would be impossible to ever compile such a list), I have tried to focus on the few texts which are used most often in the defense of Calvinism. My belief is that once the student of Scripture sees how these key Calvinistic proof texts do not, in fact, support Calvinism, he or she will then be able to apply similar interpretive principles to any other passage as well.

Finally, each chapter will conclude with a section called “The Last Word” which summarizes what I believe to be the biblical teaching on this particular point of Calvinism, and how this belief lines up with the five solas of the Reformation, specifically in regard to “grace alone” and “faith alone.” I am calling these sections “The Last Word” not because I think I have the final word on the subject (far from it!), but simply because it is the last part of each chapter.

Before we launch into the first chapter, however, a word should also be said about my choice of Bible translations. I will be using the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible. It combines the accuracy of the New American Standard (NAS) and the readability of the New International Version (NIV) with the poetry and dignity of the King James Version (KJV). But more importantly for our purposes, the NKJV translation has not suffered from the blatant Calvinistic interpretive bias which is found in various other Bible translations. I am convinced that one reason for the rise of popular-level Calvinism in the United States over the past 30 years is because of the popularity of the NIV. The NIV (as well as the ESV, the English Standard Version) is extremely Calvinistic.

People often think that Bible translators are theologically neutral. They are not. The act of Bible translation is theological interpretation. That is, when a scholar translates biblical Hebrew and Greek into English, their translation will often reflect their theological bent. So it is not surprising that the NIV, whose committee of translators heavily consisted of Calvinistic scholars, has a decidedly Calvinistic slant.⁰ I sometimes find that a verse in the NIV which seems to irrefutably support a Calvinistic position becomes much less supportive when other translations are consulted. This is especially true in 1 John. I sometimes wish that Christians who use the NIV for their Bible study would simply rip 1 John out of their Bibles. This is not because I object to what John wrote—far from it! I love it!—but because the NIV translation of 1 John is so shockingly bad.

But I am getting ahead of myself. We will discuss some of the key texts of 1 John in some of the chapters that follow as we look at the key words of Calvinism and compare them with the Word of God.

Total Depravity
in Light of Scripture

If one embraces this aspect [inability] of the T in TULIP the rest of the acrostic follows by a resistless logic. Once cannot embrace the T and reject any of the other four letters with any degree of consistency.⁰

Though my journey away from Calvinism ended by dropping Total Depravity, Sproul is correct: Total Depravity is foundational to TULIP Calvinism. As a result, this chapter may be a bit longer than the others in this book, simply because it is important to understand all that Calvinists mean when they talk about Total Depravity.

On the surface, the doctrine of Total Depravity seems acceptable. In fact, it is because of the surface level explanation of Total Depravity that I believed it for so long. Just as many evangelists today begin their gospel presentation with the “bad news” about our sinfulness before God, so the five points of Calvinism also begin with the sinful condition that mankind finds itself in. The term “Total Depravity” refers to the sinfulness of humanity in relation to God’s righteous standards, and especially to our inability to do anything that helps us earn or merit eternal life from God. I agree with this. The reason I finally rejected Total Depravity, however, is not because I believe that people can “save themselves” or earn their way into heaven, or do anything good to merit eternal life. I believe nothing of the sort. Instead, I eventually rejected Total Depravity because I understood what most Calvinists meant when they talked about Total Depravity. For them, it means way more than just sinfulness. But let us allow Calvinists to define and explain Total Depravity in their own words.